Review: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, 2)

Reviewer: Kristen 
Author: Sarah J. Maas 
Pages: 418 
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 10 out of 10 

SPOILER ALERT: Second in the series, friends! 

Summary (via Goodreads): Celaena Sardothien is the king's Champion—yet she is far from loyal to the crown, for the man she serves is bent on evil. But working against her master in secret is no easy task. As Celaena tries to untangle the mysteries buried within the glass castle, she can trust no one, not even her supposed allies Crown Prince Dorian, Captain of the Guard Chaol, and foreign princess Nehemia.

Then, an unspeakable tragedy shatters Celaena's world. She must decide once and for all where her loyalties lie . . . and whom she will fight for. 

An action-packed and romantic adventure that readers “will never want to leave” (Kirkus Reviews), the next chapter in this smash hit New York Times best-selling series is sure to please Sarah Maas's enormous and ever-growing fan-base–and to set the stage for an explosive third book.

My Thoughts: I'm so mad at all of you for not warning me about the HEARTBREAK I would endure. Seriously - y'all are supposed to look out for me! Kidding... kind of. 

So when I started this, I had that all to familiar feeling that all readers get - that the sequel would suffer from the dreaded sequelism. You know, the obvious middle book, with no big plot lines and basically just a set up for the next instalment. I am so, so, so excited that this didn't happen, and I'm even more excited that this sequel surpassed the first one. That hasn't happened since like... Catching Fire. 

The author was definitely not scared to take risks. She took some big ones, but they allllll paid off. The characters are changing in ways that seem natural to their storylines, and each and everyone of them are coming into their own larger picture. I'm so excited to see where Dorian is heading, and what happens of Chaol, and of course, Celaena. SPEAKING OF CELAENA: THAT ENDING WAS NOT FAIR AND DID UNNECESSARY THINGS TO MY HEART AND I NEED EVERYONE TO READ THIS SO THEY TOO CAN EXPERIENCE IT AND DISCUSS IT WITH ME. 

On that note, I seriously have to go start Heir of Fire. Seriously... it's sitting right beside me. See ya on the flipside! 

Final Thoughts: I can say with all the confidence in the world that this is - and will be - the best series I have read this year. Hell, it may be the best series I've read in the past 3 years. 

Top Ten Tuesdays [6]

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list and everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

October 21: Top New Series I Want To Start (New..let's say within the last year or two)


Kristen's List 
1. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (I've had this on my shelf for forever and a day) 
2. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey 
3. Igniting Lies by Rebecca Donovan 
4. White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L Armentrout (I totally dropped the ball on this one)
5. The Return by Jennifer L Armentrout (Fingers crossed for a series, here. Seth is my boo) 
6. Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott
7. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige 
8. Before You by Amber Hart 
9. Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan 
10. Apolonia by Jamie McGuire 

Kelsey: (I don't really know people)

1. Confess by Colleen Hoover

2. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

3. Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

4. The Hundred by Cass Morgan

5. Ballad...or is Lament that goes first? Maggie Stiefvater

6. The Program by Suzzanne Young

7. Covenant Series by Jennifer Armentrout (love her)

8. White Hot Kiss by Jennifer Armentrout

9. My Blood Approves Series by Amanda Hocking

10. Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Review: Opposition (Lux #5)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 534
Rating: 6 out of 10 (oh that's so sad)

** SPOILER ALERT: This is number five in the Lux series. Check out Obsidian HERE **

Summary (Lookx at Goodreads (Lame, sorry)): Katy knows the world changed the night the Luxen came.

She can't believe Daemon welcomed his race or stood by as his kind threatened to obliterate every last human and hybrid on Earth. But the lines between good and bad have blurred, and love has become an emotion that could destroy her—could destroy them all.

Daemon will do anything to save those he loves, even if it means betrayal.

They must team with an unlikely enemy if there is any chance of surviving the invasion. But when it quickly becomes impossible to tell friend from foe, and the world is crumbling around them, they may lose everything— even what they cherish most—to ensure the survival of their friends…and mankind.

War has come to Earth. And no matter the outcome, the future will never be the same for those left standing.

My Thoughts: I'm still upset that this cover is different than that of the rest of the series and I don't even own the series, I borrowed it from Kristen. I promise that she is just as upset as I am, if not more upset. It's just so different and such a let down. 

But enough about unimportant things! In the beginning of this series, I loved it. I was 100% into the story line and the characters. By this novel, I was so bored. I don't know. Maybe it's that I think that most often trilogies are too long. Five books is nearly twice as long as that! It was just too much. I still cared a lot about the characters but so much about this series seemed like a useless filler. Get to the point. Don't add a million characters that aren't necessary or plot lines that don't matter to the main element of the story. I want to get right to it. I want to know that they will end up happy but I also want to be able to trust that the story will eventually end. This novel started to drag almost. Part of the problem may have been that I read the first four novels back to back and had to wait for this one to come out. I must have lost momentum. I usually love Jennifer Armentrout's novels. I'm starting to worry that she is pulling herself too thin.

I was content with the ending even though it was a bit of a pain to get there. Everything was wrapped up. I'm not really perfectly sure how they managed to wrap up the main plot point. Like, you just scared them away? Hey, whatever. Whatever works. I don't believe it 100% but that's fine. She's the author. She's the boss.

What I'm gathering from my slightly delayed review of this novel is that I liked the series as a whole but didn't really enjoy this novel on it's own.

This is a bad review, I am so sorry.

So: Don't let this review stop you from reading this series. This novel has informed my writing, if you would believe that. I also have an unnatural attachment to Jennifer Armentrout. This series was pretty wonderful in the beginning and I was excited to find out how the whole thing would end. I wasn't too let down by the ending.

Follow Friday

Share the song you can't stop listening to.

So, I've been on a big old country kick lately and I have been binnnnnnnnge listening to Dirt by Florida Georgia Line. 

Also, I'm in love with Sam Smith's album (especially I'm Not The Only One). So, that's what has been on my playlist, what about you??

- Kristen

Life of a Blogger [5]

Life of a Blogger is a weekly feature that I found through the amazing Rebecca at Vicariously! ,  hosted by the lovely Novel Heartbeat. Each week a subject will be chosen and we get to talk about it. The topics will be non-bookish so that you can get to know each other on a more personal level! Make sure to add your link on the linky list! 

This week's topic is: Favourite Toys 

Probably barbies. I loved me some barbies. Especially the S Club 7 barbies. You don't even know, Rachel was my home girl. 
- Kristen

Legos. Always Legos...well, unless you step on them.
Growing up I always had Legos. I started out with those big toddler ones and moved on to normal kid Legos. I loved those things because I could use my imagination and I had a lot of that. I didn't mind playing with myself if I had Legos though I often found that my father and brother would get in on the action when I pulled out the huge grey tupperware bin we kept the bricks in. I still have a crazy amount of Legos. I want to keep them for my kids. I would still use them today with my younger cousins (they ask to play with them a lot) but taking them out and putting them away is a pain. It's a huge plus that now there are Legos video games and movies. I love all that stuff. I have a few Lego books too.

-- Kelsey

Review: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, 1)

Reviewer: Kristen 
Author: Sarah J. Maas 
Pages: 404 
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 9 out of 10 

Summary (thanks Goodreads): In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. 

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

My Thoughts: Holy hot moly, I don't even know how to start this review. I loved this book. Some serious "oh my God, how did I function before this book was brought into my life" love. This review is going to be quick and dirty because I need to get back to reading. The sequel is just sitting there taunting me. This book was essentially The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones (according to the cover, because I'm one of the last people in the world who haven't read/watched it) and The Selection added into one nice bundle. Add yourself a secure and confident main character, who kicks ass and knows it, and you've got yourself a winner. There's a love triangle (isn't there always nowadays) - and I'm on the fence about that. My love for Dorian and Chaol knows no bounds, so I feel like this series is going to be nothing but painful. I say, bring on the pain! The plot was fast paced, the action was amazing and the story just grabbed my attention and would not let go. Seriously, I need all of you to read it so we can fangirl and discuss it! You won't regret it, I promise.  

Final Thoughts: Suffice it to say, before I even finished this one, I went to Chapters (because I couldn't even fathom waiting for Amazon to ship it - especially since it was a holiday this past weekend) and got the next two. So, yeah, go get. 

Top Ten Tuesday [5]

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list and everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

October 14: Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit (whether fictional or real)

I read a lot of dystopia's friends, so this is going to be an interesting list. Please don't judge me too hard. 

Kristen's List: 

1. France because Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins has made me seriously want to go back

2. The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare realm minus the war. Magic would be cool. 

3. Just One Year by Gayle Forman because of wanderlust

4. I'm cheating and saying Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare because of the magic :D 

5. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson because who doesn't want to go on epic roadtrips?  I'd love to see and explore more of the USA. All I've seen is Michigan, Ohio and Florida. 

6. Thoughtless by S.C Stephens because I want Kellan Kyle in my life

7. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi because the technology is cool, the end of the world isn't

8. Okay this is the judge me answer: Panem in The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins. If I could just be a fly on the wall in the lives of the Capitol people and then see the difference between that and the District's, that'd be kinda cool I think. 

9.Angelfall by Susan Ee only if I can be an angel and the war isn't, ya know, happening

10. Hogwarts (just because I can't think of a single other place right now)

Kelsey:

1. France because Anna and the French Kiss.

2. Hogwarts and

3. City of Bones world because magic is sweet.

4. Fiction worlds from Between the Lines.

5. The town that Sarah Dessen always writes about.

6. Shadow Falls Camp

7. The underwater world in Florence.

8. A world where As You Wish is possible.

9. The beach cause The Last Song

10. Inside the Inkheart world.